Fabric package



March 17, 1970 R. GILLESPIE FABRIC PACKAGE Filed July 19, 1968 INVENTOR. RALPH GILLESPIE ATTORNEY United States Patent Int. Cl. B65d 85/66 US. Cl. 20659 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A roll of fabric enclosed in two semicircular tubes of relatively stiff paperboard and closed at the ends by wooden-like heads to protect the fabric during shipment.

Prior to this invention fabric has been packed and shipped in many types of containers, such as rectangular boxes in which it has to be supported or wrapped in paper to prevent soilage. These types of containers each have their respective disadvantages. The packaging of fabric in rectangular boxes is time consuming, expensive and wastes shipping space when the fabric is shipped in carload lots. Wrapping of fabric in ordinary kraft paper will protect the fabric from dirt, etc., but will not protect it from mishandling during shipment.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a fabric package which will protect the package from soilage and at the same time is durable enough to withstand accidental knocks and bruises during shipment and delivery to the customer.

Another object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive, compact and durable fabric package.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become clearly apparent as the specification proceeds to describe the invention with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective exploded view of the new and improved fabric package prior to completion, and

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of the new and improved fabric package ready for shipment.

Woven or knitted fabric for years has been Wrapped in paper and shipped to the consumer. In recent years with the onslaught of synthetic yarns and fabrics, certain fabrics cannot be shipped in such material since the end use of the fabric is such that any hitting or knocking of the fabric roll causes permanent disfiguration of the fabric resulting in the loss of a number of yards of fabric. A good example of this type of damage is in the production and shipment of fiber glass fabric for use in the production of tires, radiator hoses and other similar products. Fiber glass fabric will be permanently crimped if struck a sharp blow and it is obvious that if such fabric was shipped with just a layer of paper therearound that the packaged fabric would receive a number of such blows during shipment.

To prevent damage to a roll of fiber glass or similar fabric the new and improved fabric package shown in FIGURE 2 was conceived. The outer shell of the package consists of two semicircular relatively rigid paperboard members 12 and 14 which were formed by taking a circular paperboard tube and cutting it in half to provide two mating members 12 and 14. The thickness of the members 12 and 14 can be selected for the particular ap- 3,500,994 Patented Mar. 17, 1970 plication. It is obvious that pre-formed semicircular halves can be used also. Preferably, then, one of these halves would be slightly smaller in diameter so that they could be nested for shipment to the fabric producer.

Fiber glass fabric 16 from the loom is taken up on the wooden shell roll 18. The shell roll 18 can either be of a side to conform to the length of the package or can extend outwardly therefrom as long as it is possible to handle the roll of fabric from outside of the package by grasping the roll 18. The fabric 16 is removed from the take-up position and the headers 20 and 22, of wood or other suitable material, are telescoped over both ends of the roll 18 and pushed up substantially flush with the fabric. The headers 20 and 22 necessarily must be of a greater diameter than the roll of fabric 16. Then the semicircular members 12 and 14 are placed around the fabric and engage the wooden headers 20 and 22 and are secured thereto by suitable means such as nails 24. Then to prevent the semicircular members 12 and 14 from separating during shipment, a plurality of straps 26 are tightened thereabout to form a compact, rigidly secured package of fiber glass fabric.

It can readily be seen that the herein disclosed package is compact, relatively inexpensive and can readily be handled during shipment without damage to the fabric contained therein.

Although I have described in detail the preferred em bodiment of my invention, I contemplate that many changes may be made without departing from the scope or spirit of my invention and I desire to be limited only by the claim.

That which is claimed is:

1. A package of wrapped fabric comprising: a shell roll, a roll of fabric on said shell roll, a pair of substantially circular header members each having a diameter greater than the diameter of said roll of fabric, each of said header members having a centrally located aperture therein, one of said header members being loacted closely adjacent one end of said fabric roll with said shell roll projecting through the aperture therein and the other of said header members being located on the other side of said roll of fabric closely adjacent thereto with the shell roll projecting the aperture therein, two elongated mated semicircular substantially rigid tubes, each of said tubes having a radius substantially equal to the radius of said header members and having a length greater than the length of said roll of fabric, each of said tubes being telescoped over and connected to each of said header members and positioned close together to cover said roll of fabric and a plurality of straps around said tubes to prevent said tubes from separating from one another.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 960,766 6/ 1910 Alderfer. 1,527,300 2/1925 Haerther 229-93 2,482,869 9/1949 Polglase et al 22993 3,039,602 6/1962 Kessler 206-51 WILLIAM T. DIXSON, 111., Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

